bakersfield mass ave.

it was being on vacation..bakersfieldis so very different than most places in indianapolis. the wait staff and manager were friendly, trained and informed. the atmosphere was fun but not to young to throw this 60 + couple off. the menu was different and the food very good. the patio area is very clever and where the day a tiny bit cooler - we would have sat out there.

as we leftbakersfieldi told my husband that i felt like i had been on a mini vacation! heck, we finally figured out the parking meters too. get day!

had never enjoyedbakersfieldprior to my son recommending it during a recent visit to mass ave. he gave my wife and a “heads up” on how good the mexican (some say texmex) food is at bakersfield, regardless of how it’s labeled, he was so right. forget about your usual south of the border restaurants, and there’s a ton of them. the food and drink selections atbakersfieldare prepared in a manner that’s a cut above all the rest. friendly, prompt staff top the experience off. i’ve heard a rumor that they’re considering opening a north side indianapolis location - sure hope so as that will make our stops to enjoybakersfieldeven more frequent. great place!!

we were seated at one of three or four long wooden tables with matching benches…picnic-style tables. although i would not take kids tobakersfieldany later in the day than early afternoon, it is indeed “family-friendly” during the day.

trending now..bakersfieldcertainly is the "it" place right now. the hipsters of indianapolis crawled out of their skinny jean stores and skipped their liberal arts study sessions to come here every night. but with good reason! they have a small, yet refined menu. their tacos are fresh and flavorful with every component made in house. granted, i think they're a bit on the small side, and they don't double wrap each soft taco like zest! (smartly) does, but they're good nonetheless. want an even cooler ambiance? go downstairs. it has kind of a underground wine cellar/prohibition underground pub feel to it. that's where we sat. we also got a pitcher of their famous margheritta which was more than enough to water the three of us. their special of the day, shots of luna tequila for $3 each, was super smooth and delicious. i loved it. the server was super cool and down to earth and spent a lot of time with us, even sitting with us for a minute or two.

overall, i'd come back here again in a heartbeat. just go on a sunday night like we did because it wasn't hard to get a table and it wasn't suffocatingly cramped inside (as hipsters seem to grow roots into the floor the moment they stop moving).

meh on mass. i had heard rave reviews aboutbakersfieldsince its opening. every time i would pass it on the street it would be packed to the gills. my thought process was good reviews + consistent crowds = a good dining experience.

i was happy to see that my group and i did not have to wait for a table even though it was almost noon on a friday. while the inside of the restaurant was very cool, the barrel tables were baffling. the round stone top barely overlapped the barrel, making for a very awkward leg situation. do you straddle the barrel so you're close to your food? do you smush your knees into the barrel and lean forward at a 45 degree angle to reach the tacos? do you gather your legs to one side and hope to god you're friendly with your eating partners and they won't mind the unavoidable knee grazing? i never quite figured out the right answer.

i ordered a margarita immediately as is my custom, salt on the rim. while perusing the scant menu i started to worry if they would even have anything i could eat (gluten intolerant). our very nice waitress brought me a list of the tacos that were safe - just two options. i was disappointed. i took a consolatory sip of my margarita, which much to my dismay tasted like sweet and sour mix right out of the bottle instead of a refreshing tequila drink. i decided on the corn truffle tacos as quickly as possible to i could wash out my mouth with the chips and salsa, which, thankfully, was very good.

the tacos came, along with a plethora of extra plates, drinks, queso, chips, and salsas. our platter-sized table was overflowing with stuff, no real estate available even for a stray elbow or fork. with much difficulty i was able to eat my tacos which were, i will admit very good. however, the enjoyment of the interesting combination of flavors was somewhat (ie completely) ruined by the fact that the restaurant was 100 degrees inside.

sweating with my legs cramping from the uncomfortable pretzel shape i had to have them in, i grabbed my check as soon as possible and left. and i will not be returning.

its a great concept for a mass ave haunt but not well executed. i'll stick to qdoba. at least they have air conditioning.

bakersfield moseyed into the trendy mass ave dining scene several months ago, setting up shop in the space formerly known as bazbeaux. to be honest, i totally forgot this used to be bazbeaux at all until i just typed that. that’s how different it looks now. i went there for a saturday night dinner-and-drinks girls’ night out, and it proved to be a good choice. the shine definitely isn’t off thebakersfieldpenny – the place was packed with a crowd that overflowed onto the sidewalk out front. three of my friends were already there when i arrived, holding down a set of bar stools in prime corner real estate. the décor is industrial-chic with brick walls, nifty caged hanging light fixtures and clever little nods to the rockabilly-ish “bakersfield sound” musical era. case in point, the women’s restroom is indicated by a picture of loretta lynn on the door. all in all, a young hipster’s see-and-be-seen sorta digs. bakersfield’s hopping saturday night scene sobakersfieldis part of a franch

bakersfield is another great option on mass ave..bakersfieldis situated in a great location in downtown indy (across from bazbeaux and ball and biscuit) this new addition ushers in a more well-rounded mass ave, and provides another fantastic dining and drinking option. the menu here is refreshingly uncomplicated and succinct. selections of eight different tacos ranging in price from $3-$4. chips and guacamole, salads, and tortas.

the usual local suspects on tap such as sun king’s wee-mac, and upland as well as a daily $2 “boot” of pabst. rotating options of $3 whiskey and tequila shots. a rose sangria that sounded amazing-but ultimately, i had to go with a margarita. first margarita i had was the $12 premium margarita, it was a tad overly sweet. it’s funny, but i found my second choice, the $6bakersfieldmargarita, was actually far better than the premium.

on to the food....so they make a point of telling you how great their famous guacamole is, like, right when you sit down. they. are. not. lying. this is probably the best guacamole i’ve had since moving here from chicago. really great and fresh. tacos were unbelievable, we tried: the mole, pastor, and short rib, and spicy cochinita pobil. honestly, really hard to say which one i liked the best. probably the mole. the spices and seasonings were perfect, subtle layers of flavors in even their spicier cochinita pibil.

seating is just shy of crowded but not terrible. music is good and a bit loud but didn’t bother me. old cowboy/western movie playing on their tvs and not sports. wait staff are great and friendly. what another welcome addition to downtown indy! my new “go-to” for my mexican and margarita fix!

folsome prison blues. walked intobakersfieldand looked around. wideplank manufactured wood floors,metal bolted to the brick walls and johnny cash blasting on the sound system.milli vanilli would be more appropriate.it was like walking into some synthetic orlando ethnic "eatery" experience.johnny cash would have eaten at one of the two dozen authentic mexican taquerias in indy or the red key. walked away that day but have tried twice since w friends who wanted me to join them. have tried all tacos and both salads. it's fine if you are nearby and don't have time to go somewhere else. had a bill for $34 for 2 people at lunch ...5 tacos and a salad to split w water. $40 out the door. really?!?!? next time took both folks to a real mexican taco joint on new york nearby just to prove a point. $16 w fantastic authentic tacos and guac w 3 different salsas. no comparison. kim kardashian would love bakersfield.

i’ve been wanting to trybakersfieldsince it opened about six months ago and the buzz began.  one of the things that’s been keeping me from reviewingbakersfieldis that it is usually incredibly crowded and i have very little patience for that sort of thing.  a friend of mine recently had cause to celebrate during a very low-volume time of day (about 5 on a tuesday), so i voted to try this place out.   a lot of people don’t know this, butbakersfieldis actually a chain, albeit a small chain, with at least one branch that i know of in cincinnati.  the concept of the restaurant is ” …inspired by a city (bakersfield, ca) known for spawning an era of music called thebakersfieldsound. the “sound” was a reaction to the slick, pop country music coming out of nashville. it was firmly country but had more of a rock n’ roll influence, and was a bit less polished than other records of the time.”  this means there is always pretty loud country music playing in the restaurant. the interior has